US STOCKS-Dow transportation average up 2.2 pct; airlines bounce

NEW YORK Oct 3 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones transportation
average was up 2.2 percent and on track for its biggest
daily percentage gain since March, but it is set to end the week
nearly flat after sharp losses earlier this week.

The biggest percentage gains were in airline shares,
including JetBlue Airways, up 4.7 percent; Delta Air
Lines, up 4.6 percent; and United Airlines, up
4.8 percent. The NYSE ARCA Airline index was up 2.9
percent.

Airline shares were down sharply earlier this week after the
first diagnosis of Ebola in a patient in the United States
raised caution about travel.

United Airlines said on Wednesday it believed the U.S. Ebola
patient flew on its airline from Brussels to Dallas-Fort Worth
via Washington on Sept. 20, based on information provided to the
airline by federal officials.

The Dow transportation average is up 14.6 percent for the
year so far, compared with the S&P 500's gain of 6.5 percent for
the year so far.